الصحف الاسرائيلية تحذر من التصعيد مع سوريا

lol. Oh boy, you got that right. Bull's Eye!! Thanks Andre!! Having said that, I have to second guess myself!!

@Chad and Phoenix
Hizbushaitan WAS a Lebanese component for a while, until they decided to take over the control of Lebanon under the orders of iran.
the existing blind support of the shia community comes from false pride that they control the country and they are free to d whatever they want and not pay electricity and so on while the rest of Lebanese pay their dues.
remember all groups before them in Lebanon, they had high support among their communities but once the decision to close shop came, they all suddenly lost support.

Lame post...no substance!

It is not blind support at all. It is about a real need for protection. HA defends Lebanese interests primarily by providing security through their dissuasive weapons facing an enemy that can do anything, anytime, without justification and in total impunity. Does that mean that HA is flawless and never messed up ? No! But I am afraid there is no viable alternative to HA protection at the moment. Many of us have seen the Israeli bombs landing on our homes and how they are still behaving in Palestine. And we are not willing to get rid of our unique protection because you *think* that Israelis are unlikely to strike/invade us any time soon. Sorry.

HA brought all this on Lebanon and we will pay the price dearly. Again, they are not a Lebanese entity but clearly a strategic military outfit (group) trained/armed by Iran. Please don't sell me BS that they are here as a 'resistance' to protect us from Israel. Believe me if HA was not in the picture we would live perfectly in harmony with Israel next door with NO fear of threat or assault from them. They want to be left alone....just like the Lebanese want to be left alone.

And the poor Lebanese people have to endure all this crap!

Sorry Chad but if you really want have any kind of effective deterrence against Israel then you start by building a state. A strong state can start with education which leads to great research and development of a defense program from within. Do we not have great minds? Why can't their ideas and vision stay in Lebanon and benefit our country? There is a reason kids are leaving our beloved country and thats because it's one of the most corrupt country in the world. A militia that is stronger than the state and acts above the law is not the answer. We need to build a strong state and that starts with all weapons under the controll of the state and leaders on board for a strong self sufficient state. Not a strong self sufficient party acting as a mini state.

@chad
1 -
The path that HA is still following today has been discredited and relegated to the dust bin of history by the Arab Spring. This discarded philosophy was underpinned initially by the notion of Pan Arabism and later modified to Resistance or "Moumana3a" when Pan Arabism proved a failure.

The failure of Pan Arabism gave rise to Islamist Philosophical ascendency. But at the same time, the advent of the Internet and the explosion in information availability and sharing also gave rise to a younger more pragmatic and worldly Arab youth movements who were at the vanguard of the various Arab Springs.

@chad
2 -
The Islamists, mainly the Muslim Brotherhood, who had suffered at the hands of the Pan Arabists were the most organized come the Arab Spring and hence were able to hijack the movement that was started by liberal and wordily Arab youths using force in some instances. This however is now being contested from Tunisia to Egypt and history I think will record that the early 21st Arab generation rejected the hegemony of religious philosophies as a replacement for the hegemony of dictatorial philosophies.

While force can and does achieve some successes, force alone can not keep those successes unless buttressed by undivided people behind it. HA may have once enjoyed such support but it no longer does.

@chad
3 -
Some may still believe, as you apparently do, that HA is still on the right path. They do so at their own peril because looking around us in Lebanon HA not only lost the support of most Christians - FPMrs claims notwithstanding - but, and even more crucial, has also lost the support of its fellow Sunni coreliogionalists.

HA, and Iran's, arrogant approach in the region is gaining them more enemies by the day. One shudders at the thought of how our fellow Lebanese Shiites will be treated by the rest of the Lebanese should a new destructive engagement with Israel ensue this time. The Sunnis of Lebanon are still smarting from the events of May 8, 2008 and have not forgotten or forgiven the arrogance displayed at that time by HA.

@chad
4 -
It is only through consolidating the Lebanese state and taking care of our current young and future generations by placing high value on education and respect for the authority of none corrupt state that we have any hope at a lasting victory against Israel and stability at home. Any other approach is akin to patching a huge injury with a small band aid.

It appears that the majority of Christians and Sunni Lebanese have finally internalized the lessons of the past. One fervently hopes that the Shiites of our beloved Lebanon will soon come around to the same realization for the sake of this small country we call Lebanon.

@LebanonFirst - of course we need to develop education and research! Who said the contrary? But dont you need a safe country first ? To keep the "bright minds" you are talking about inside Leb? And yes I agree an entity above the state cannot be the answer in the long term, obviously! But HA has become what it is by necessity, by the need of its people to survive and defend their land. When the root cause disappears or when the state can take up that role then there wont be any need for HA.

@Phoenix - I disagree with you that Lebanon interests are undermined in their strategic relations with Syria&Iran. I dont say it's without risk but I think we - Lebanese- have benefited the most from this synergy. Without all this logistic support I wonder how much of Lebanon would be still under Israeli occupation today.
I agree we shouldn't stay in this state of confrontation for ever. But to make this transition we need to create the conditions..starting with a government we can trust, not one that was stabbing his own people from behind in the middle of a raging war..a government where we can still find Israeli spies not later than this week..

r u implying Nuke is better!! Terrible! I hope not smarty!!